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Trial By Fire: Impact Of Rapid Expansion Of Telemedicine In A Large Community Health System, Scott Stratton-Smith, Cole Nardi, Benjamin Snyder

Advances in Clinical Medical Research and Healthcare Delivery

Background: Our community-based health system transitioned to a largely telehealth-based approach under the pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic. Limited implementation of telehealth had begun in 2018, but provider and patient reluctance and inadequate reimbursement prevented widespread adoption at the time. The pandemic accelerated our system’s telehealth efforts.

Results: In February 2020, video technology was rarely utilized, with the organization averaging fewer than 10 video visits per month. In April 2020, our providers used it for over 30% of all visits in our system, accounting for over 30,000 visits. Before COVID-19, fewer than 20 of our providers had performed a direct-to-patient …